I recently acquired a Z8 and I assume by now there may be a few other members who have done the same.

Just wanted to start this post to see if we can get some collaboration going.

I have completed about 80% of the setup and am at the point where I am customising button functions.

I am keen to share what I have setup and to see how it compares with what others are doing.

Will post again once the setup is completed.

Hi Craig,
Thanks for setting up this discussion thread.  I have been looking at the Reference Manual and see that the camera has two dials, the main command dial on the back and sub-command dial on the front of the camera.  I assume each of these dials can be customized for aperture, exposure time or ISO setting.  Just wondering how you are setting up your camera for the control of these exposure parameters? What is the default setting from the factory for the control of these basic parameters?
Regards,
Ian

Hi Ian,

Out of the box, the main command dial (rear) is set for shutter speed (well, it doesn't have one, but you know what I mean), and the sub command dial (front) is set for aperture. I'll retain this, as I am used to it from my D750.

I'll also leave the ISO and exposure compensation buttons (again adjusted with the command dials) performing their respective functions.

But I am going to give the following a try, to see which, if either, works for me:

- Manual mode, and use the lens control ring to adjust ISO, or
- Manual mode with Auto ISO, and use the lens control ring to adjust exposure compensation.

It might come down to ergonomics and whether I tend to accidentally bump the lens control ring or not. Hopefully I won't, given there is no zoom to worry about, and that I assume I'll only occasionally focus manually.

Will come back at a later date with some more information on what I end up doing on the autofocus side of things.

Best regards,
Craig

Thanks Craig,

I am trying to imagine how I would use this camera and, along the way, perhaps ask some questions others would like answered. From your reply to my first post I get the impression that the ISO button is used to turn on this adjustment which is then adjusted using one of the two command dials, ditto exposure compensation.  Is this correct?

For what it's worth, my bird photography style of shooting uses ISO adjustment far more than exposure time or aperture to achieve acceptable exposure. This means I need a setup that gives priority to easy and fast adjustment of ISO. Next in priority is exposure time, and I change aperture the least.  In fact, I usually change aperture with custom shooting mode, rarely within a custom shooting mode setting, and can do a two hour shoot without ever changing the aperture. So, from what I have learned so far, I would reassign the main command dial (rear) to ISO adjustment, and use the sub-command dial (front) for exposure time.  That leaves aperture adjustment... not sure how I would do that, perhaps with the lens control ring, if that was possible.  Does this make sense for the Z8? I never use AutoISO with or without exposure compensation.

Regards,  Ian

The answer to your question, Ian, is yes.

Will give due consideration to your thoughts on exposure controls. I'll just need to check that all the required functionality is available on the dials/ring concerned. Thanks Ian.

Best regards,
Craig

I would be interested to hear from any Z8 user (who uses back-button autofocus) in regard to their autofocus settings.

Have you:

- Set the AF-ON button for AF-ON only, and then programmed other buttons to engage different AF-area modes, thereby using those buttons in conjunction with the AF-ON button.

- Programmed buttons for AF-area mode + AF-ON, thereby having mode selection and autofocus on a single button.

Which of the two approaches do you prefer?